altar for rushes and reeds

2024. Found lobster trap parts, pen and ink on paper, thread, dried kelp, marsh grasses. 5” x 20” x 20”.

Installation at Shoals Marine Laboratory, Appledore Island, ME.

alter for rushes and reeds uses found objects and hand-drawn illustrations to create a space to celebrate not only cultivated flower cuttings, but wild plant species as well. Sea kelp is cut, sewn, and dried to create petal-like holders. Illustrations inspired by algae cell structure drawings are sewn into the negative space of the lobster trap section, creating small portals. The rushes on display were gathered from the island home to Celia Thaxter’s garden.